Joey Wheeler
by YamiYugiCandy
Summary: --For every over-the-top hero battling against the dark forces of the shadow realm, there’s somebody just playing the game for the fun of it--


-Yu-Gi-Oh! Character Spotlight-

Hey, everybody! I just wanted to have a full list of _JOEY_ and his duels out there!  
You always read about Yami this, and Yugi that—_WHAT ABOUT JOEY?!_ XD  
^^ So here it is! Please enjoy! And don't forget to review!

(I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!)  
(Based on the first three seasons of the **English anime!** _Not_ the manga or the Japanese anime!)

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**JOEY WHEELER  
**_**The faithful friend and luck duelist**_

Not every duel rests on the ultimate struggle of good and evil. Not every duelist holds a Millennium item. Not every duelist controls his own corporation or owns an island to organize a tournament. For every over-the-top hero battling against the dark forces of the shadow realm, there's somebody just playing the game for the fun of it. For Every Yugi, Yami, Pegasus, or Kaiba out there, there's a Joey Wheeler playing the game for the fun of it all.

Before even touching his first deck, Joey was a bully; shaking down smaller kids like Yugi Motou for their money—or just for the fun of it. Eventually, Yugi got Joey out of a tough spot, and Joey goes for a swim to give Yugi the piece of his Puzzle back. Yugi later on teaches Joey how to play the game. We get our first glimpse of Joey's dueling skills when he is getting his ass kicked by Tea Gardener. This just goes to show you—even the best players have to start at the bottom. Joey, determined to prove himself as a true duelist, sneaks aboard the ship to Duelist Kingdom. He's never looked back since.

Joey is by no means the best duelist around, but with the number of people he's beaten, you have to wonder. With his blonde hair and a mouth that constantly gets him into trouble, Joey has won his fair share of duels. Maybe that's what makes Joey such a great character. Whenever Yugi or Yami drops his deck on the table, you _know_ that he's going to win. He's the hero. Joey, on the other hand, doesn't win every duel. His incredible luck has limits. While Yugi and Yami represent the hero, Joey represents every duelist who's gone against the impossible odds with a grin on his face.

Over the past couple years, we have watched this ex-bully go from a loser to a contender. Even after loosing a duel, Joey is always ready for a rematch. Here's a list of Joey's greatest—and some of his not-so-great—moments.

**FIRST DUEL**  
It's true what they say—you never forget your first duel. After taking his first steps in Duelist Kingdom, Joey couldn't wait to battle the first duelist he met. Unfortunately for him, the first duelist he comes across is the beauty Mai Valentine. Her Harpies Lady deck almost turned out to be his _last_ duel in the tournament, but with the spin of his wand—and some luck from Joey—Time Wizard causes Joey's weak Baby Dragon to turn into Thousand Dragon. Mai's elegant Harpies turn into a pile of dust.

**TRAIL BY RED-EYES  
**Joey didn't always have his signature Red-Eyes Black Dragon card in his deck. He had to win it. After a nasty defeat at the hands of a beginner, Mai convinces Rex Raptor to battle Joey in the hopes that Rex could tear down the budding duelist. Rex's dinosaur deck trampled over Joey's monsters with ease. When all hope seemed lost, Mai decided to make the duel more interesting. Rex would bet his Red-Eye's for Joey's Time Wizard—winner takes all. Without much surprise, though, Joey's Time Wizard turns Rex's dragon to dust, and Joey gains his most precious card.

**BEST OF FRIENDS – BEST OF DUELISTS  
**It's been a long road for Joey. From a creepy ghoul deck to a cheater's machine deck, this newcomer has faced down some of the toughest competition on the island. Now it's time for Joey to face a new opponent—his best friend. Each duelist wants to battle Pegasus. Joey needs the prize money to save his sisters sight, but Yugi/Yami needs to beat Pegasus to save his grandfather.

In the end, Yugi/Yami's Dark magician stands before him. Joey plays his lucky card, the Time Wizard. In a flash, a thousand years passes by on the field. As the smoke clears, we see that Yugi/Yami's Magician is still on the field. He now controls the Dark Sage, a monster who can call upon a spell card from the graveyard. With monster reborn, Yugi/Yami resurrects a monster from Joey's graveyard—the Black Skull Dragon. The battle ends, and Yugi/Yami is once again victorious. He gives Joey the money card—even though Joey didn't win, he can still pay for his sister's operation.

So, all in all, this was the most pointless duel in the entire anime.

**DUNGEON DICE MONSTERS  
**Duke Devlin is a man with dice skills, and he has a new game—Dungeon Dice Monsters. Angry with Yugi/Yami for becoming Yu-Gi-Oh! (Which means "king of games" in Japanese), Duke challenges Joey. The duelist, still fresh from his grand winnings in Duelist Kingdom, takes the challenge and loses the game.

I know this isn't one of Joey's, er, _best_ moments. Joey becomes the mascot for Duke's cheering squad. For several episodes, we get to see Joey run around in a dog costume while cheerleaders attack him. Maybe not his…_finest_ moment, but it is by far one of his funniest.

**BATTLE CITY  
**Poor Joey…Kaiba started a tournament and "forgot" to invite him. Pssh, Joey gets no respect. Even after beating Mai, Rex, and making it to the finals of Duelist Kingdom, nobody thinks Joey can play cards with the best. Well, he'll show them. But before the action even begins, Rare Hunters attack Joey, and he loses his Red-Eyes! Luckily for him, Yugi/Yami gets it back. But Joey refuses to take it back until he can beat Yugi/Yami in a duel.

He still has his lucky Time Wizard, but it will take more than luck to get past these duelists.

**ESPA ROBA – THE ESP DUELIST  
**Knowing the card's in your opponent's hand puts the duel in your favor. Espa Roba knows all the cards in your hand—with the help of his "mystical powers" (A.K.A – His brothers spying on his opponents). As the duel goes on, Joey suspects Espa of cheating when he mistakes Joey's Devil Dice for Graceful Dice. It all comes down to Joey's Roulette Spider to save the day. Roulette Spider attaches itself to Espa's strongest monster, Jinzo. Jinzo starts to spin quickly before it stops and attacks the monster in front of it—Espa's Reflect Bounder. Luck saves the day once again for Joey Wheeler.

**WEEVIL'S WEB  
**Weevil is up to no good again. This time, he sneaks his Parasite card into Joey's deck, turning all his monsters into…_bugs!! _With an Insect Barrier on the field, Joey's monsters can't attack. But luckily for Joey, he pulls out the card that can save him—Gearfried the Iron Knight. The warrior's hard metal armor stops the Parasite card from affecting it. Joey walks away with another win—and Weevil's Insect Queen.

**LEGENDARY FISHERMAN  
**Even the best of duelist need some time off to smell the fishies. A walk into the Water Park leads Joey to his next duel with the master of water monsters—Mako. As soon as the duel starts, Mako uses Umi—hiding his deadly sea monsters under the water. Joey hold up through most of the duel, then Mako calls upon his two strongest monsters—Fortress Whale and the Legendary Fisherman. Fortress Whale attacks, only to have Joey spring Magic Arm Shield and uses Legendary Fisherman to deflect the attack. Both creatures go to the graveyard. Crushed by losing his two best cards, Mako starts to give up, but Joey won't let him. This duelist doesn't accept win by forfeit. In the end, though, Joey uses Mako's own Legendary Fisherman to win the duel.

**UNITED FRIENDSHIP**  
After leaving the Water Park, Marik kidnaps Joey and Tea and takes them to an abandoned warehouse, then controls their minds with his Millennium Rod (insert rod joke here). Yugi/Yami will be in the duel of their life when they have to go against Joey for the Millennium Puzzle, the god cards, and their souls.

The duel begins with both Duelist shackled to a giant anchor hanging above the dock. The winner gets the key to their shackles. It's a lose/lose duel, right? The battle is fierce. Joey, under the control of Marik, uses his new illegal cards to quickly gain the upper hand in the duel. Yami/Yugi, on the other hand, tries to drag the duel out so he can figure out a way to save them both. Later on in the duel, Yugi takes control of his body again, and he tells Yami not to interfere. To make sure he doesn't, Yugi gives Joey the Puzzle.

Soon, Joey activates another Meteor of Destruction, and Yugi activates his Mystical Reef Panel, which allows him to change the direction of the attack to anyone he chooses. After a heartfelt last word to Joey, he chooses to direct the attack at himself. Joey regains the control of his mind as the box at his feet opens to reveal his key. Joey tells Red-Eyes to attack him, and then Yugi's box opens. He takes the puzzle off and he swings over to Yugi. He has just enough time to grab Yugi's key before the anchor drops into the water, dragging a barley conscious Yugi and a brave Joey in as well. Joey swims over to Yugi and opens his shackle, and he watches his friend drift back to the surface.

Then, after Joey is struggling for air, Serenity jumps into the water to save her brother. Out of all the battles Yugi/Yami and Joey have been through, this one has been the most intense so far.

**AWAKENING OF EVIL  
**Joey makes it into the finals, and his first opponent is the one and only Marik!—or is it?! Namu, using Marik's identity, faces Joey first. Joey uses monster after monster to attack Namu, only to have him knock Joey down. Even with his new strong monsters, Joey can't get by.

If that wasn't enough, Marik then commands Namu to summon the Winged Dragon of Ra! But since Namu's is a counterfeit, the real Ra becomes furious, and it attacks both players with lightning. While unconscious, Joey has a dream of all his friends lending him a hand, and before he knows it, he's on his feet, and he wins the duel after Namu stays unconscious.

**ISOLATED IN CYBERSPACE  
**God, you can't take Yugi/Yami anywhere with out somebody trying to kill him! Even in the middle of a tournament, Yugi/Yami is never safe. But wait…can it be?! This time it isn't Yugi/Yami they want?! It's…it's Kaiba! Noa, who is later to be revealed as Kaiba's stepbrother, drags everyone into cyberspace. Joey must now face new enemies, new cards, and play a new game with Deck Guardians. Will he managed to get past it all?

You better believe it! He's Joey Wheeler, after all.

**COURTROOM CHAOS  
**Joey has gotten through most of his duels with luck. Don't deny it. When the leader of the Big Five, Johnston, challenges Joey to a duel, he makes sure that our hero's luck runs out. Johnston cheats several times (which isn't such a surprise…everybody cheats at this game) during the game by affecting dice and coin tosses—two things that Joey depend on the most. Joey pulls out his deck master—the Flame Swordsman. With one last gamble, Joey can increase the power of his Swordsman if Johnston picks the one monster in his hand. Johnston picks Goblin Attack Force, and Joey wins again by betting it all on a single draw of the cards.

**WWJD? (What Would Joey Do?)  
**In many ways, Joey is one of the real heroes in the series. He doesn't have a magical item or all the money in the world. Joey is just a regular kid put into some exceptional situations. Joey loses duels, but that doesn't stop him from learning from his mistakes and trying again. Joey may depend a lot on luck, but he's willing to put it all on the line to win.

There's nothing extraordinary about Joey—and that is what makes him simply amazing.


End file.
